Kidnap crisis baffles Bruce

The Birmingham boss is in a dilemma over whether to include Honduran Winston Palacios as he is caught up in the centre of a kidnap nightmare.

The midfielder’s 15-year-old kid brother Edwin has been snatched and is being held to ransom in his central American homeland. Bruce admits there is no guidebook on how to deal with such a crisis. But Bruce will take the player to Goodison Park for today’s clash with Everton and see how he handles the situation before naming his team.

“What do you do?” asked Bruce. “All we can offer is our support. There has been a ransom demand and the authorities and police are dealing with things. You see these things in films but when it happens in real life it’s quite shocking.

“It is a real threat. It’s the real thing. We will take him with us because otherwise he will be left in his flat on his own.

“His family are keen for him to stay here. All we can do is offer our support.”

Bruce has enough to worry about with the return to form of Everton’s £11m striker Yakubu, who he tried to sign in the summer.

“It was beyond us,” said Bruce. “If you look at his goal record with Middlesbrough and Portsmouth, it’s just fantastic.

“He’s always scored goals. I am a big admirer of his. But, I’m a big admirer of the likes of Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Leon Osman for that matter.

“David Moyes has assembled a very strong side. When he took over things weren’t great.

“But he’s turned them into an established top side and deserves great credit for that.”